A long walk...

The left coast obviously doesn't get much snow. And every time the fluffy white stuff falls from the heavens I find some minor entertainment in watching how the entire Lower Mainland deals with it. Here are my observations from our most recent wintery adventure.

Cool Truck Guy

Yes, I can see your truck. Everyone can see your truck. I'm fairly certain it can be seen from space with the naked eye. It is big and impressive looking and all of the rest of us half-lifes bow in awe. We are well aware that your tires, which are larger than our cars, will not be held back by any road conditions. But last I checked honking your horn at me will not cause the vehicle currently stopped in front of me to magically float up into the heavens and clear a path for you.

Minivan Mom

Yes, it is definitely a good idea for you to not brush the snow of your windows. Yes, you will make it up that hill that everyone else is failing to advance on. Yes, you have the inner conviction that is stronger than the other 3 vehicles that are presently turning around. Yes, if you apply more pressure to your gas pedal when attempting  to climb that hill you will make it. What? You didn't make it? Oops. My bad.

Snow Chains

I can't remember ever seeing a snow chain in all my Prairie days. And I know full well that we don't have to contend with all the hills, so I will concede that fact. But here it seems like the magic solution to moving a vehicle is to just put the chains on. Stuck on a hill? Put chains on. Driving across town? Put the chains on. Only 1 inch of snow? Put the chains on. I kid you not, two years ago I saw someone driving around town on snow-free roads with chains on! That being said, if I get stuck at the bottom of the mountain, I'll be wishing I I had chains.

Facebook

Is it really snowing?!?!

Kids

If you can convince your parents to keep you home from school, then you rule!

Parents

If you keep your kids home from school, then you also rule! But just admit it. It's not for their personal safety. You just want to play in the snow. How do I know? Because that's where I would rather be! And I'm looking forward to getting home and snow-suiting it up.

Watch this...

An old soccer teammate from my college days posted a link to this video on Facebook and it was too good not to share.

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The Irresistible Church (Review)...

Can I admit that I have developed some terrible reading habits? In reality I could probably say that I have just failed to develop proper reading habits, but either way the end result is that I get a book, read a chapter or two and then it spends an inordinate amount of time on the bookshelf until I remember it is there.

This is one book that broke the pattern, mostly due to it's alignment with a teaching series we were working on at church, but also due to the fact that once I started reading it grabbed my attention. In the end I ended up reading the book fairly quickly (by my standards) and our pastoral team used the book as one of our references for a teaching series last fall.

The Irresistible Church has a slightly misleading title as one begins to think this is a book about how you can make your church irresistible to people. I admit to thinking that this was going to be another book telling me how to "do church properly" and what our church could do to attract more people to it.

Instead this was a book focused on what character traits churches should foster so they can create a place where God would want to show up and do His thing each week. It is not just for the sake of making your church the next big draw in town and getting people into the pews, but rather for preparing your church to get out into the world and make a difference for Jesus. Wayne Cordeiro says it best with this statement:

"The point of an irresistible church is never to simply see its members attend church each week and then do nothing.  It's to attend, be equipped, and then go out and live purposeful lives for God. A church must be a place where disciples gather--and then scatter." (pg 22)

Cordeiro has a very straight forward style of writing in which he can clearly articulate with an apparent level of humility what he has learned over he 30 plus years in ministry. He never comes across condescending or arrogant and His personal stories of how he has come to discover that each trait is important shows a man who is letting God do a work in Him. I never once felt like I was being berated into some gimmicky quick fix. Instead I felt genuine words of compassion with some very straight forward action statements like "seek the presence of God".

This book speaks a great deal about what should ultimately be the heartbeat of the church. He paints a picture of a church that actually hungers for God's presence, a church that places a priority on people and relationships, a church that is committed to learning and a church that actually takes the time to come up with a plan. A healthy mix of heart and practicality.

I enjoyed this book and found it was an inspiring read that had me identifying with the picture he was painting and thinking to myself, "I'd love to be a part of a church like that!"

FYI, I had previously read Cordeiro's "Leading on Empty" and enjoyed it a great deal.  I think it's a book that every pastor should read!

***Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group

Don't cry...

I held the front door to the church open as the older gentleman stepped out of the car and made his way into the building.

"Good afternoon. How are you?", I inquired as we shook hands.

The hand shake was a long one as he carefully chose his words.

I watched his eyes slowly fill with tears.

"Fine," he said. "But we are sad that you are leaving us. We appreciate you."

And with that he carried on his way as I went on mine.

.......................

I'm kind of gutted from that. It hurts to know my leaving causes tears.